In April 1922, we find Einstein lecturing in Paris, engaged in
reestablishing ties among scientists in former enemy nations. Meanwhile,
back in Berlin, political tensions are rising. In June, the brutal
murder of his friend, Germany's foreign minister, Walther Rathenau,
heavily affects Einstein who, for a while, fears for his own safety and
briefly contemplates leaving Berlin and abandoning academic life
altogether. When only a few months later it is announced that he will be
awarded the Nobel Prize, after more than a decade of nominations,
Einstein is on a steamer heading from Europe to Japan. As we learn in
this volume, although he knew in advance of the coming prize, he
nevertheless embarked on his longest voyage yet. His travel diary,
published here for the first time, recounts in poetic prose the hectic
schedule on land, the contemplative rest at sea, and his musings on
science, philosophy, and art during his first encounter with the Far
East, Palestine, and Spain.
Einstein's work and intense scientific exchanges--with N. Bohr, P.
Ehrenfest, A. Sommerfeld, M. Born, and others--during these fifteen
months result in remarkable publications and intellectual developments.
A paper written with Ehrenfest shows with uncompromising clarity that
the outcome of the recent Stern-Gerlach experiment could not be
explained by either classical or quantum theory. In a similar vein, he
analyzes the phenomenon of superconductivity. Clearly among the leading
quantum theorists, he focuses on its conceptual bases, tirelessly
proposing crucial experiments that could decide between classical and
quantum physics. We also see foundational interests develop in his
concerns with a unified field theory of electromagnetism and
gravitation.
A translation of selected non-English texts included in Volume 13 is
available in paperback at http: //press.princeton.edu/titles/9874.html